2003 Annual Report for ENE02-065
Cooperation Works Professional Development Program
Summary
The Cooperation Works Professional Development Training Program will increase the number and success of sustainable agricultural cooperatives in the Northeast region. This program consists of three, three-day sessions held over the course of 13 months and addresses the legal, accounting, business, and organizational aspects specific to cooperatives. The course is designed to prepare cooperative development professionals from Cooperative Extension, USDA Rural Development, Cooperative Development Centers, and other cooperative development projects in the region to support a cooperative development project from inception through feasibility analysis, incorporation, business planning, membership development and start-up. The program curriculum has been designed to meet the needs of sustainable agriculture participants (SARE participants) by introducing segments on Northeast SARE and other available resources; current opportunities and challenges in sustainable agriculture, the associated benefits of cooperatives; as well as presenting two sustainable agricultural cooperative case studies per session (see Appendix B) to anchor the learning process with real world examples. With ongoing support from CDI, SARE participants will apply what they've learned by providing technical assistance to new and existing agricultural cooperative projects with the aim of diversifying agricultural products, making farms more profitable and making farming more environmentally sustainable. Also, a Sustainable Agricultural Cooperative Development On-Line Resource is being developed collaboratively with our advisory committee, composed of Northeast sustainable agriculture leaders and sustainable agriculture participants, and will be available on-line by mid-to-late March 2004.
Objectives/Performance Targets
12 people will support the development of agricultural cooperatives in the Northeast targeted at achieving Northeast SARE oucomes.
SARE participants will set a target to provide technical assistance to four agricultural cooperatives and to support the development of one new sustainable agricultural cooperative every other year.
Cooperative development project leaders will provide more than 50 hours of technical assistance to the agricultural cooperative they are working to create.
CDI will do follow up interviews and surveys with participants to determine how much technical assistance they are providing and the goals they have set for their work with sustainable agricultural cooperatives to determine when we have reached the performance targets.
Milestone 1: An average of 20 participants will attend each of the three treaining sessions and study sustainable agricultural cooperative development.
Milestone 2: 20 participants will provide a minimum of 10 hours of technical assistants to sustainable agricultural cooperative development projects and reflect on their work.
Milestone 3: 12 of the participants will assist in developing the resource handbook for developing sustainable agricultural cooperatives.
Accomplishments/Milestones
PROGRESS ON MILESTONE 1: 15 people on average and 29 overall attended each of the three training sessions as SARE participants: 16 SARE participants attended the Nov. '02 session of the Cooperation Works training program; 17 SARE participants attended the May '03 session; and 12 participants attended the Nov. '03 session. All are currently studying sustainable agricultural cooperative development.
PROGRESS ON MILESTONE 2: With only twelve of the twenty-nine interviews completed, we know that twelve SARE participants have provided at least ten hours of technical assistance to a sustainable agricultural cooperative development projects and have reflected on their work.
PROGRESS ON MILESTONE 3: We've had three discussions with the advisory committee and three SARE participants, as well as individual discussions/interviews with twelve SARE participants to gather information to develop the Sustainable Agricultural Cooperative Development On-Line Resource.
Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes
Twelve SARE participants are supporting the development of agricultural cooperatives in the Northeast targeted at achieving the Northeast SARE outcomes.